India on Tuesday said it will play a proactive role to deal with climate change and strengthen the national action plan to tackle global warming.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, who discussed a gamut of climate change issues with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also said that he “welcomed” the French announcement of one billion Euros credit line over next three years to India to take initiates in climate control.

France will host the World Climate Conference next year.

“We emphasised that India will play a proactive role because climate change is real and we have decided on our national action plan. We will strengthen it further. But we expect the developed world to walk the talk,” Javadekar said.

The Minister, who had earlier said that the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC was “very important”, said the outcome of the previous conferences should be “discussed and negotiated” much earlier and it should not be a last minute affair.

“We said the draft of outcomes always needs to be discussed and negotiated much earlier than the actual conference. It should not be a last minute affair,” he said.

Welcoming the French government’s announcement to extend credit line over the next three years to India to take initiates in climate control, he said, “After the actual funds arrive…for what they are giving. We will use funds…we can discuss that..whatever riders or conditions…what is the concept of the fund but we welcome”.

Fabius had yesterday said that he wants to prepare for Conferences of the Parties in close cooperation with India.

France will be proposing a credit line of up to 1 billion euros (Rs 8200 crore) over the next 3 years for sustainable infrastructure and urban development in India through Agence Francaise de Development AFD (French development agency), he had said.

Javadekar told the French foreign minister that the 100 billion dollars Green Fund should be utilised to purchase critical technologies so that they are available free of cost to developing nations.

Javadekar said the developed world must give finances and ensure technology transfer.

“I had already suggested at the Nairobi platform and that was well received that technology transfer can happen if the Green Fund, which is supposed to be given by the developed world, can be used for IPR purchases of critical technologies.

“If those critical technologies are purchased by that fund, the technology will be available free of cost and then every country will have its own plan. That idea is well received by the world and I also emphasised that (during the meeting with France Foreign Minister),” Javadekar said.

In his speech at the Ministerial Plenary of the First UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi recently, Javadekar had said since it has been agreed to establish the Green Climate Fund of USD 100 billion per year by 2020, this amount should be utilised to purchase IPRs of most crucial technologies for
public good.

After purchasing IPRs, these technologies should then be freely available to the developing countries to facilitate sustainable development, he said.

Elaborating on today’s meeting with the French foreign minister, Javadekar said he told Fabius about the Indian “ethos” in which “man, community and nature are all part of one shrishti”.

“He also discussed French government’s ideas for success of the Conferences of the Parties. It was a mutually very important dialogue. We had a good meeting,” the Environment minister said.

Javadekar said both the countries also discussed on “mutually cooperating on various ideas and share best practises”.

As the meeting took place in the new Indira Paryavaran Bhavan, a green building, Javadekar told Fabius that they were meeting in a “net zero energy building”.